Method and system for selecting and viewing sports content and a scoreguide in a virtual reality device

ABSTRACT

A virtual reality (VR) system including a head mounted display (HMD), a sensor or an input device, a selection module, a scoreguide module and a display module. The HMD displays a VR environment including sports content of a live game, a prerecorded game, or a sports channel. The sensor or input device is connected to the HMD and generates signals based on detection of at least one of movement of the HMD, movement of an eyeball of a user, voice communication of the user, or user contact with the input device. The selection module selects the sports content based on the signals and generates a selection signal indicating the sports content. The scoreguide module generates a scoreguide based on the signals. The display module displays the sports content in the VR environment based on the selection signal and displays the scoreguide in the VR environment based on the signals.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to viewing sporting eventswithin a virtual reality environment.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background informationrelated to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Satellite television has become increasingly popular due to the widevariety of content and the quality of content available. A satellitetelevision system typically includes a set top box that receives anddecodes satellite signals for viewing content on a television.

Satellite television systems typically broadcast content to a number ofusers simultaneously in a system. Satellite television systems alsooffer subscription or pay-per-view access to broadcast content. Accessis provided using signals broadcast via a satellite. Once access isprovided, a user can access the broadcast content.

Many content providers are offering systems that provide a centralizedserver with a large amount of video storage. Multiple client devices canconnect to the server to display video content received from the server.

Virtual reality (VR) devices are gaining in popularity. This isparticularly true for gaming systems. VR devices include a userinterface and a head mounted display (HMD) that displays a VRenvironment. A view of the VR environment, displayed on the HMD(sometimes referred to as VR gear), typically changes with movement of auser of the HMD.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides methods and systems for displayingcontent and related information on a display of a virtual realitydevice.

In one aspect of the disclosure, a virtual reality system is providedand includes a head mounted display, at least one sensor or inputdevice, a selection module, a scoreguide module and a display module.The head mounted display is configured to display a virtual realityenvironment including sports content of a live game, a prerecorded game,or a sports channel. The at least one sensor or input device isconnected to the head mounted display and is configured to generatesignals based on detection of at least one of movement of the headmounted display, movement of an eyeball of a user, voice communicationof the user, or user contact with the input device. The selection moduleis configured to select the sports content based on the signals andgenerate a selection signal indicating the sports content. Thescoreguide module is configured to generate a scoreguide based on thesignals. The display module is configured to display the sports contentin the virtual reality environment based on the selection signal anddisplay the scoreguide in the virtual reality environment based on thesignals.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, a method of operating a virtualreality system is provided and includes: displaying a virtual realityenvironment on a head mounted display including sports content of a livegame, a prerecorded game, or a sports channel; and generating, via atleast one sensor or input device connected to the head mounted display,signals based on detection of at least one of movement of the headmounted display, movement of an eyeball of a user, voice communicationof the user, or user contact with the input device. The method furtherincludes: selecting the sports content based on the signals andgenerating a selection signal indicating the sports content; generatinga scoreguide based on the signals; and displaying the sports content inthe virtual reality environment based on the selection signal anddisplay the scoreguide in the virtual reality environment based on thesignals.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. It should be understood that the description andspecific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

FIG. 1 is a high level block diagram of an example of a satellitedistribution system in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of a user receiving device inaccordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of a head end in accordance withthe present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example of a client device in accordancewith the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example of a wearable device inaccordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a virtual reality device on a user andillustrating linear and angular motion that may be monitored by thevirtual reality device.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example of a virtual reality module ofthe virtual reality device of FIG. 6 in accordance with the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example of a portion of a controller ofthe client device of FIG. 4 or the virtual reality device of FIG. 6 inaccordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is an example of a field-of-view displayed on a screen of thevirtual reality device of FIG. 6 in accordance with the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 10 is another example of a field-of-view displayed on a screen ofthe virtual reality device of FIG. 6 in accordance with the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 11 is an example of a three-dimensional (3D) view of a stadiumincluding selectable tiles as seen via the virtual reality device ofFIG. 6 in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is an example of a two-dimensional (2D) overhead view ofselectable sections of a stadium and points of references in accordancewith the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is another example of a 2D overhead view of a stadium withselectable sections in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is another example of a 2D overhead view of a portion of astadium illustrating selectable seats and corresponding sections androws in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIGS. 15A and 15B (hereinafter FIG. 15) is a flowchart of a method forcontrolling a virtual reality device in accordance with the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of another method for controlling a virtualreality device in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 is an example of another field-of-view displayed on the screenof the virtual reality device of FIG. 6 in accordance with the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The teachings of the present disclosure can be implemented in a systemfor communicating content to an end user or user device (e.g., a mobilephone, a tablet, a computer, and/or a virtual reality device). Both thedata source and the user device may include one or more modules having amemory or other data storage for incoming and outgoing data. Fordefinitions and structure of the modules see below provided descriptionand accompanying drawings.

A content and/or service provider is also described. A content and/orservice provider is a provider of data to an end user. The serviceprovider, for example, may provide data corresponding to the contentsuch as metadata as well as actual content in a data stream or signal.The content and/or service provider may include one or more modules,processors, controllers, communication components, network interfacesand other associated circuitry to allow communication with various otherdevices in a system.

Further, while the following disclosure is made with respect to thedelivery of video (e.g., television (TV), movies, music videos, etc.),it should be understood that the systems and methods disclosed hereinmay also be used for delivery of any media content type, for example,audio, music, data files, web pages, advertising, etc. Additionally,throughout this disclosure reference is made to data, content,information, programs, sports content, advertising, assets, video data,etc., however, these terms may be used interchangeably with respect totransferring data via the example systems disclosed herein. While thefollowing disclosure is made with respect to example DIRECTV® broadcastservices and systems, it should be understood that many other deliverysystems are readily applicable to the disclosed systems and methods.Such systems include wireless terrestrial distribution systems, wired orcable distribution systems, cable television distribution systems, UltraHigh Frequency (UHF)/Very High Frequency (VHF) radio frequency systemsor other terrestrial broadcast systems (e.g., Multi-channel Multi-pointDistribution System (MMDS), Local Multi-point Distribution System(LMDS), etc.), Internet-based distribution systems, cellulardistribution systems, power-line broadcast systems, any point-to-pointand/or multicast Internet Protocol (IP) delivery network, and fiberoptic networks. Further, different tasks performed by a service providerand integrated receiver/decoders (IRDs) as described below can bereallocated as desired without departing from the intended scope of thisdisclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a satellite television broadcasting system 10including a virtual reality system 11 is illustrated. The satellitetelevision broadcast system 10 includes a head end 12 that generateswireless signals 13 through an antenna 14 which are received by anantenna 16 of a satellite 18. The wireless signals 13, for example, maybe digital. The wireless signals 13 may be referred to as an uplinksignal. A transmitting antenna 20 generates downlink signals 26 that aredirected to a user receiving device 22. The user receiving device 22 maybe located within a building 28 such as a home, multi-unit dwelling orbusiness. The user receiving device 22 is in communication with anantenna 24. The antenna 24 receives downlink signals 26 from thetransmitting antenna 20 of the satellite 18. Thus, the user receivingdevice 22 may be referred to as a satellite television receiving device.However, the system has applicability in non-satellite applications suchas a wired or wireless terrestrial system. Therefore, the user receivingdevice 22 may be referred to as a television receiving device or set topbox. More than one user receiving device 22 may be included within asystem and/or within a building 28. The user receiving devices 22 may beinterconnected.

The downlink signals 26 that are communicated to the antenna 24 may belive linear television signals. Live television signals may be referredto as linear content because the live television signals are broadcastedat a predetermined time on a predetermined channel. A grid guidecommonly includes linear content arranged by channel and by time. Thelinear content is different than on-demand content that is communicatedfrom the head end or other content distribution network to a userreceiving device 22 when requested by the user. The client device 34 mayalso be in direct and/or bi-directional communication with a virtualreality device 36. The client device 34 may communicate via wires and/orwirelessly with the virtual reality device 36. A display (e.g., display60) of the client device 34 may be used as a display of the virtualreality device 36. For example, the virtual reality device 36 may beplugged into or attach to the virtual reality device 36 and a screen ofthe client device 34 may be magnified by lenses within the virtualreality device 36. When used in this manner, the client device 34 may beconsidered as part of the virtual reality device 36. The operation ofthe client device 34 relative to the virtual reality device 36 isdescribed in detail below. Video content (e.g., streaming video and/orlive video content) may be transmitted from the satellite 18 (or a basestation), the user receiving device 22, the client device 34, thenetwork 50 to the virtual reality device 36. The video content mayoriginate at the content provider 64 or the head end 12 and betransmitted to one or more of the devices 18, 22, 34, 36.

The client device 34 may include different types of devices. One or moreclient devices may be used in a system. In this example, the clientdevice 34 includes and/or is implemented as one or more of a mobiledevice 44, a computer 46, and a game system 48. Each of the devices mayinclude one or more applications (Apps, a single APP is shown for eachdevice) and corresponding software code that is used for interfacingwith the virtual reality device 36. Although shown in the client device34, the application 49 or a portion thereof may be stored and executedon the virtual reality device 36. The applications may include videogame applications, movie applications, sports applications (e.g., anational football league App, a national hockey league App, a nationalbasketball league App, a professional sports App, etc.), or other typesof computer programs that are used to display content on one or more ofthe displays disclosed herein, such as the displays 42, 60. As mentionedabove, one or more client devices 34 may be included in the system 10and communicate with the virtual reality device 36. The mobile device 44may be a mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, or other typeof mobile computing device. The computer 46 may be a desk top computer.The game system 48 may operate various types of video games that use thevirtual reality device 36 as an input and as a display.

The user receiving device 22 may be in communication with a router 30that forms a local area network 32 with a client device 34 and/or avirtual reality device 36. The router 30 may be a wireless and/or wiredrouter. For example, the user receiving device 22 may be wired to therouter 30 and wirelessly coupled to the client device 34 and to thevirtual reality device 36. The router 30 may communicate internetprotocol (IP) format signals to the user receiving device 22. The IPsignals may be used for controlling various functions of the userreceiving device 22. IP signals may also originate from the userreceiving device 22 for communication to other devices such as theclient device 34 or the virtual reality device 36 through the router 30.The client device 34 and the virtual reality device 36 may alsocommunicate signals to the user receiving device 22 through the router30.

The virtual reality device 36 may be wearable on a user meaning it ismeant to be fixed to the user during operation. An example of a virtualreality device 36 includes an Oculus VR® device. The complexity of thevirtual reality device 36 may vary from a simple display device withmotion sensor to a device having various inputs and user interfaces. Thevirtual reality device 36 may be in direct communication with the userreceiving device 22 and/or the client device 34 through a Bluetooth®connection. The virtual reality device 36 may also be in communicationwith the user receiving device 22 and the client device 34 through an IPconnection through the router 30 and a local area network. The virtualreality device 36 may also be in communication with devices outside thelocal area network 32 through the router 30. That is, the virtualreality device 36 may communicate with other devices such as the headend 12 through the network 50. The client device 34 may provide a bridgeor a communication path for the virtual reality device 36 to the router30 and ultimately to the user receiving device 22 or the network 50. Thevirtual reality device 36 may generate signals such as selection signalsthat are communicated through the client device 34 but are destined tobe used by the user receiving device 22, the head end 12 or other userdevices in communication with the network 50.

The client device 34 may also be in communication with the router 30,the head end 12 and various other devices through the network 50 orother devices in other parts of the network 50.

The user receiving device 22 includes a screen display 58 associatedtherewith. The display 58 may be a television or other type of monitor.The display 58 may display both video signals and audio signals.

The client device 34 may also have a display 60 associated therewith.The display 60 may also display video and audio signals. The display 60may be integrated into the client device 34. The display 60 may also bea touch screen that acts as at least one user interface. Other types ofuser interfaces on the client device 34 may include buttons andswitches.

The display 42 of the virtual reality device 36 may also display videoand audio signals. The display 42 may be integrated into the virtualreality device 36. The display 42 may be a stereoscopic display thatdisplays different images for each eye of the user. Images of thedisplay 42, as viewed by a user, may be combined in the brain of theuser to form a continuous image. A projected display or user interfacemay also be projected on the display 42. The virtual reality device 36may also include physical function selectors, switches, or buttons asother types of user interfaces (e.g., touch pad) for selecting displayedtiles (sometimes referred to as chicklets), stadium sections, points ofreference, stadium seats, stadium cameras, etc. Tiles may refer toportions of displayed video that include selectable content. Examples oftiles are shown in FIG. 9. Although the term “stadium” is primarily usedherein to refer to any facility in which a sports game is played, theterm stadium may be replaced with and/or refer to an arena, a dome orfacility having an air-supported structure, a gym, or some otherfacility or structure in which a sports game can be played.

The user receiving device 22 may be in communication with the head end12 through an external network, such as network 50. The network 50 mayinclude one type of network or multiple types of networks. The network50 may, for example, include a public switched telephone network, theInternet, a mobile telephone network or other type of network. Thenetwork 50 may be in communication with the user receiving device 22through the router 30. The network 50 may also be in communication withthe client device 34 through the router 30. The network 50 may be indirect communication with the client device 34 or virtual reality device36 such as in a cellular system implementation.

The system 10 may also include a content provider 64 that providescontent to the head end 12. Although only one content provider 64 isillustrated, more than one content provider may be included in thesystem 10. The head end 12 is used for distributing the content throughthe satellite 18 or the network 50 to the user receiving device 22,client device 34, or the virtual reality device 36.

A data provider 66 may also provide data to the head end 12. The dataprovider 66 may provide various types of data such as schedule data ormetadata. The metadata may ultimately be provided to a user devicethrough the program guide system. The metadata may include variousdescriptions, ratings, titles, user ratings, television or parentalguidance ratings, descriptions, related descriptions and various othertypes of data. The data provider 66 may provide the data directly to thehead end 12 and may also provide data to various devices such as theclient device 34, virtual reality device 36, mobile device 44 and theuser receiving device 22 through the network 50 or the user receivingdevice 22 via the router 30. This may be performed in a direct mannerthrough the network 50 or indirectly through the user receiving device22.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a user receiving device 22, such as a set topbox is illustrated in further detail. Although, a particularconfiguration of the user receiving device 22 is illustrated, otherconfigurations with an internal controller receiving content may beimplemented. Each of the components illustrated may be capable ofcommunicating with each other.

The antenna 24 may be one of a number of different types of antennasthat includes one or more low noise blocks. The antenna 24 may be asingle antenna 24 used for satellite television reception. The userreceiving device 22 is in communication with the display 58. The display58 may have an output driver 112 within the user receiving device 22.

A controller (or control module) 114 may be a processor such as amicroprocessor that cooperates with control software. The controller 114may be used to coordinate and control various devices of the userreceiving device 22. These devices may include a tuner 120, ademodulator 122, a decoder 124 (e.g., a forward error correctiondecoder), a buffer and/or other devices.

The tuner 120 receives a signal and/or data via an individual satellitechannel and/or channel bonding. The tuner 120 may receive televisionprogramming content, program guide data or other types of data. Thedemodulator 122 demodulates the signal and/or data to form a demodulatedsignal and/or data. The decoder 124 decodes the demodulated signal toform decoded data and/or a decoded signal. The controller 114 may be achip-based multi-functional controller. Although only one tuner 120, onedemodulator 122 and one decoder 124 are illustrated, multiple tuners,demodulators and decoders may be provided within a single user receivingdevice 22.

The controller 114 is in communication with a memory 130. The memory 130is illustrated as a single box with multiple boxes therein. The memory130 may include different types of memory, such as a hard drive, a flashdrive and various other types of memory. The different boxes representedin the memory 130 may be other types of memory or sections of differenttypes of memory. The memory 130 may include non-volatile memory and/orvolatile memory.

The memory 130 may include storage for content data and operational datacollected during operation of the user receiving device 22. The memory130 may also include advanced program guide (APG) data. The programguide data may include various amounts of data including two or moreweeks of program guide data for a program guide. The program guide datamay be communicated in various manners including through the satellite18 of FIG. 1. The program guide data may include a content or programidentifiers, and various data objects corresponding thereto. A programguide may include program characteristics for respective programcontent. The program characteristic may include ratings, categories,sports information, content identifier and producer data. The data mayalso include various user profiles such as other settings like parentalcontrols.

The memory 130 may also store a user receiving device identifier thatuniquely identifies the user receiving device 22. The user receivingdevice identifier may be used in communications through the network toaddress commands thereto.

The memory 130 may also include a digital video recorder. The digitalvideo recorder 132 may be a hard drive, flash drive, or other memorydevice. A record of the content stored in the digital video recorder 132is a playlist. The playlist may be stored in the DVR 132 or a separatememory as illustrated.

The user receiving device 22 may also include a user interface 150. Theuser interface 150 may be of various types or combinations of varioustypes of user interfaces and include a keyboard, push buttons, a touchscreen and/or a remote control. The user interface 150 may be used toselect a channel, select information, change the volume, changeappearance of a display, and/or perform other functions. The userinterface 150 may be used for generating a selection signal forselecting content and/or data shown on the display 58.

A network interface 152 may be included within the user receiving device22 to communicate various data through the network 50 illustrated above.The network interface 152 may be configured for a WiFi, WiMax, WiMaxmobile, wireless, cellular, and/or other type of communication systems.The network interface 152 may use various protocols for communicationtherethrough including, but not limited to, hypertext transfer protocol(HTTP).

A Bluetooth® module 154 may send and receive Bluetooth® formattedsignals to or from the client device 34 and/or virtual reality device36. Both the Bluetooth® module 154 and the network interface 152 may beconnected to one or more wireless antennas 156. The antennas 156generate RF signals that may correspond to user receiving deviceidentifiers.

A remote control device 160 may be used as a user interface forcommunicating control signals to the user receiving device 22. Theremote control device may include a keypad 162 for generating keysignals that are communicated to the user receiving device 22.

The controller 114 may also include a network transmission module 172.The network transmission module 172 may be used to (i) generate andcommunicate signals that are renderable such as the program guide,playlist and other menus, and also (ii) communicate the output of thedecoder 124. The signals, which are formed by the network transmissionmodule 172, may include both audio signals and video signals. Onesuitable transmission format for live signals to a client is a digitaltransmission content protection over Internet protocol (DTCP-IP). Theuser receiving device 22 may communicate securely with the client usingthe DTCP-IP signals. A video encryption module 176 may encrypt videosignal and audio signals communicated from the user receiving device 22.A remote interface server module 174 may be used for communicating theprogram guide, banners, playlists and other renderable signals withoutthe need for encryption. By providing renderable signals, the clientdevice 34 may include or be implemented as a computer, a mobile device,and/or a gaming device.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the head end 12 is illustrated in furtherdetail. The head end 12 may include various modules forintercommunicating with the client device 34 and the user receivingdevice 22, as illustrated in FIG. 1. Only a limited number ofinterconnections of the modules are illustrated in the head end 12 fordrawing simplicity. Other interconnections may be present in aconstructed example. The head end 12 receives content from the contentprovider 64 illustrated in FIG. 1. A content processing system 310processes the content for communication through the satellite 18. Thecontent processing system 310 may communicate live and recorded contentas linear content (at a predetermined time and on a correspondingchannel). The content processing system 310 may be connected to acontent repository/memory 312 for storing content therein. The contentrepository/memory 312 may store and process on-demand or pay-per-viewcontent for distribution at various times. The virtual reality device 36may also display on-demand content. The pay-per-view content may bebroadcasted in a linear fashion (at a predetermined time according to apredetermined schedule). Linear content is presently broadcasting andmay also be scheduled in the future. The content repository/memory 312may also store on-demand content therein. On-demand content is contentthat is broadcasted at the request of a user receiving device and mayoccur at any time (not on a predetermined schedule). On-demand contentis referred to as non-linear content.

The head end 12 also includes a program data module 313 that may includevarious types of data related to programming past, present and future. Aprogram guide module 314 may also be included in the program data module313. The program guide module 314 may include the programming data forpresent and future program data. The program guide module 314communicates program guide data to the user receiving device 22illustrated in FIG. 1. The program guide module 314 may create variousobjects that are communicated with various types of data therein. Theprogram guide module 314 may, for example, include schedule data,various types of descriptions for the content, and content identifiersthat uniquely identify content items. The program guide module 314 maycommunicate up to two weeks of advanced guide data for linear content tothe user receiving devices. The guide data includes, for example, tuningdata such as time of broadcast data, end time data, channel data, andtransponder data. Guide data may also include content availableon-demand and pay-per-view content.

An authentication module 316 may be used to authenticate different userreceiving devices, client devices and virtual reality devices thatcommunicate with the head end 12. Each user receiving device, clientdevice and virtual reality device may have a unique identifier. The useridentifiers may be assigned at the head end or associated with a useraccount at the head end 12. The authentication module 316 may be incommunication with a billing module 318. The billing module 318 mayprovide subscription data and authorization data suitable for the userreceiving devices, the client devices and virtual reality devices thatinteract with the head end 12. The authentication module 316 ultimatelypermits the user receiving devices and client devices to communicatewith the head end 12. Authentication may be performed by providing auser identifier, a password, a user device identifier or combinationsthereof.

A content delivery network 352 may be in communication with a contentrepository 312. The content delivery network 352 is illustrated outsideof the head end 12. However, the content delivery network 352 may alsobe included within the head end 12. The content delivery network 352 maybe managed or operated by operators other than the operators of the headend 12. The content delivery network 352 may be responsible forcommunicating content to the various devices outside of the head end 12.Although only one content delivery network 352 is illustrated, multiplecontent delivery networks may be used.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the client device 34 is illustrated in furtherdetail. The client device 34 includes a controller 410. The controller410 is in communication with a microphone 412, which receives audiblesignals and converts the audible signals into electrical signals. Theaudible signals may include a request signal. The request signal may beto: perform a search; obtain guide data, network data, and/or playlistdata; select a sports game and/or channel; select an option and/or aviewing parameter; execute an App; display a game; select a section,seat, camera, view; etc.

The controller 410 is also in communication with a user interface 414.The user interface 414 may include buttons, input switches and/or atouch screen.

A network interface 416 is also in communication with the controller410. The network interface 416 may be used to interface with the network50. As mentioned above, the network 50 may be a wireless network or theinternet. The network interface 416 may communicate with a cellularsystem or with an Internet or both. A network identifier may be attachedto or associated with each communication signal received from the clientdevice 34, such that a determination may be made by another device as towhether the client device 34 and the user receiving device 22 are in thesame local area network.

The controller 410 may also be in communication with the display 60described above in FIG. 1. The controller 410 may generate graphicaluser interfaces and content descriptions.

The controller 410 may also include a gesture identification module 438that identifies gestures performed on the display 60. For example, auser in providing a gesture may drag a finger up, down, and/or sidewayson the display 60 and/or hold the finger in a location on the display 60for a predetermined amount of time. A gesture performed on a certainscreen may be (i) translated into a particular control command formaking a selection, and/or (ii) translated into a signal communicated tothe user receiving device 22.

The client device 34 and/or the virtual reality device 36 may include avirtual reality module 456. The virtual reality module(s) 456 may beincluded within the controller 410 of the client device 34 or in thecontroller 510 (shown in FIG. 5) of the virtual reality device 36. Thevirtual reality module 456 may obtain sensor data and scale live videofor display by a virtual reality device (the virtual reality device 36or a combination of the devices 34, 36) based on the sensor data. Thatis, a live television display area may be defined within graphics of avirtual reality program or application executed by the virtual realitydevice. The field-of-view and viewing angle of a virtual reality 3Denvironment may change based on the sensor data. Output of the virtualreality module may include audio and video signals. The video signalsmay include image data that is displayed on the display 42 or 60.

The controller 410 may also include a video decryption module 457 fordecrypting the encrypted audio signals and video signals received fromthe user receiving device to form decrypted signals. The decryptionmodule 457 may decrypt the DTCP-IP formatted signals. An audio and videodecoder 458 processes the decrypted signals for display. A remote userinterface renderer 460 renders the non-encrypted signals to form adisplayed image of, for example, a program guide. The video and renderedgraphics signals may be communicated to the virtual reality module 456for scaling and display together with the virtual reality graphics.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a block diagrammatic view of virtual realitydevice 36 is set forth. The virtual reality device 36 may include amicrophone 512 that receives audible signals and converts the audiblesignals into electrical signals. A touchpad 516 provides digital signalscorresponding to the touch of a hand or finger. The touchpad 516 maysense the movement of a finger or other user input. The virtual realitydevice 36 may also include a movement sensor module 518 that providessignals corresponding to movement of the device. Physical movement ofthe device may also correspond to an input. The movement sensor module518 may include sensors 519, such as accelerometers, moment sensors,optical/eye motion detection sensors, and/or other sensors that generatesignals allowing a device to determine relative movement and orientationof the device and/or movement of eye balls of a user (referred to asgaze tracking). The movement sensor module 518 may also include amagnetometer. Sensor data provided by the various sensors 519 may beused to select tiles, stadium sections, stadium seats, stadium cameras,viewing angles, entries of shown tables, etc. The touchpad 516 and thesensors 519 provide input and/or feedback from a user for the selectionof offered/shown items and provide commands for changing a shown fieldof view (FOV).

The virtual reality device 36 may also include a network interface 520.The network interface 520 provides input and output signals to awireless network, such as the internet. The network interface 520 mayalso communicate with a cellular system.

A Bluetooth® module 522 may send and receive Bluetooth® formattedsignals to and from the controller 510 and communicate the signalsexternally to the virtual reality device 36. Bluetooth® may be one wayto receive audio signals or video signals from the client device 34.

An ambient light sensor 524 generates a signal corresponding to theambient light levels around the virtual reality device 36. The ambientlight sensor 524 generates a digital signal that corresponds to theamount of ambient light around the virtual reality device 36 and adjuststhe brightness level in response thereto.

An A/V input 526 may receive the audio signals and the video signalsfrom the client device 34. In particular, the A/V input 526 may be awired or wireless connection to the virtual reality application of theclient device 34.

The controller 510 may also be in communication with the display 42 anaudio output 530 and a memory 532. The audible output 530 may generatean audible signal through a speaker or other device. Beeps and buzzersto provide the user with feedback may be generated. The memory 532 maybe used to store various types of information including a useridentifier, a user profile, a user location and user preferences. Ofcourse, other operating parameters may also be stored within the memory532.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the movement sensors 518 of FIG. 5 may be usedto measure various perimeters of movement. A user 610 has the virtualreality device 36 coupled thereto. The moments around a roll axis 620, apitch axis 622 and a yaw axis 624 are illustrated. Accelerations in theroll direction 630, the pitch direction 632 and the yaw direction 634are measured by sensors within the virtual reality device 36. Thesensors may be incorporated into the movement sensor module 518, theoutput of which is communicated to the client device 34 for use withinthe virtual reality module 456. An example touchpad 638 is shown on aside of the virtual reality device 36.

The virtual reality device 36 includes a head mounted display (HMD) 42.The HMD 42 may be the display 60 of the client device 34 of FIG. 1 ormay be a display that is fixed within the virtual reality device 36.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an example of the virtual reality module 456 isillustrated in further detail. The virtual reality module 456 mayinclude a sensor fusion module 710 that receives the sensor signals fromthe sensors 519, the touchpad 516, the microphones 412, 512 of FIGS.4-5. The sensor fusion module 710 determines the ultimate movement ofthe virtual reality device 36 and/or eyeball movement to change contentbeing displayed and/or to select a portion of content being shown.

The virtual reality module 456 may also include a live definition module712. The display definition module 712 may define a display area fordisplaying live signals and/or renderable signals with the displayedgraphics of an application or program.

The virtual reality system 11 disclosed herein change images and/orfield of view angles displayed based upon the position of a head of auser, movement of the head (thus movement of the virtual reality device36 of FIG. 1), audio command or request signals of the user, and/or eyemovement of the user, as determined by the sensor fusion module 710. Themovement of the head corresponds directly to the movement of the virtualreality device 36. The output of the display definition module 712 maybe input to a synchronization module 714. The synchronization module 714coordinates the position of the video display with the output of thesensor fusion module 710. The synchronization module output 714 iscommunicated to an integration module 720.

The integration module 720 may also receive an output from a scalingmodule 724. The renderable or live television signals 716 arecommunicated to the scaling module 724 to be properly scaled for thesize and perspective of a display area of graphics generated by thevirtual reality module 456. The renderable or live television signals716 may be replaced with other video content signals. The integrationmodule 720 outputs rendered signals corresponding to the application andthe live television signals that have been scaled to the display 42.This may include sending audio content to one or more speakers of: thevirtual reality device 36; and/or the client device 34 if the clientdevice 34 is being used as part of the virtual reality device 36.

A user input 730 from a user interface such as a game controller or atouch screen may also be used to change the screen display. For example,the video may change from the display area graphics to a full screenupon command from the user. A button or voice command signal may begenerated to perform this function.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a portion of the controller (or controlmodule) 510. The controller 510 may further include a sensor module 750,a launch module 752, an interactive viewing module 754, a selectionmodule 756, a display module 758, an options module 760, an upgrademodule 762, and a scoreguide module 764. The sensor module 750 mayinclude the sensor fusion module 710 of FIG. 7 and receive sensorsignals SENS from the sensors 519 of FIG. 5, audio signals AUDIO frommicrophones 412, 512 of FIGS. 4-5, and/or a signal TP from an inputdevice (e.g., a device having buttons and/or a touch pad) on a virtualreality device (e.g., one of the virtual reality devices disclosedherein). The sensor module 750 may generate a viewing angle signal VAand/or a sensor input signal INPUT. The viewing angle signal VA mayindicate: linear and/or angular motion and/or position of a virtualreality device (the virtual reality device 36 of FIG. 1 or other virtualreality device); motion and/or position of user eye balls; a requestedviewing angle; an amount of time the virtual reality device 36 and/oruser eye balls are located in particular positions; angular positioninformation; displacement from a previous position; and/or otherposition indicative information indicating position, angles and/ororientation of the virtual reality device and/or eye balls in 3D space.The input signal INPUT may be generated based on the signal TP andindicate, for example, buttons pressed by a user, length of time thebuttons are pressed, and/or other input information.

The launch module 752 launches an App (i.e. starts execution of aselected App). For example, a user may launch a sports App, as furtherdescribed below with respect to the method of FIG. 9. This may be basedon and/or in response to one or more of the signals VA, INPUT and/or theinformation included in the signals VA, INPUT. The launch module 752 maygenerate a signal START indicating that the App is started and/or videocontent to be displayed on the display 764.

The interactive viewing module 754 may generate a field-of-view signalFOV indicating a FOV based on one or more of the signals VA, INPUTand/or the information included in the signals VA, INPUT. The FOV mayinclude and/or be a portion of a virtual reality environment and isdisplayed on the display 764 (e.g., one of the displays 42, 60). Thevirtual reality environment may be viewed (i) at a location remotelylocated away from and external to a facility in which a sports game isbeing played, or (ii) at a location within the facility. The sports gameis viewed in the virtual reality environment. This allows a user to viewthe sports game at different points of reference and to look around theinside of the facility from the different points of reference. As anexample, the user may see these views while sitting at home. As anotherexample, a user may be sitting in a first location in the facility andvia the virtual reality device 36 see the inside of the facility fromother locations.

As a user's head and/or eye balls move, the FOV changes. The FOV may bea view from one or more cameras within a stadium. Images from one ormore cameras may be stitched together to provide up to a 360° virtualreality environment for viewing inside the stadium. The images may bereceived by the head end 12 of FIG. 1 and forwarded to the virtualreality device. The images may be stitched together via the headend 12,the controller 410 of the client device 34, the controller 510 of thevirtual reality device 36 and provided to the interactive viewing module754. The images may be forwarded to the virtual reality device 36 priorto receiving updated versions of the signals VA, INPUT to provide quickresponse time in viewing the FOV on the display 764.

As further described below, the user may select various viewingparameters for one or more points of reference within the stadium. Oneor more cameras may be located at each of the points of references. Theuser may select which of the points of reference at which the user canview up to a 360° FOV. This may include selecting seat locations,section locations, side-line locations, overhead locations, and/or otherlocations of the cameras.

The selection module 756 may be used to implement selections by a user.The selection module 756 may select a game, a channel, options, viewingparameters, an App, camera locations, points of reference, etc. Theselection module 756 may generate a selection signal SLCT indicating theselections based on one or more of the signals VA, INPUT. The selectionmodule 756 may monitor the signal INPUT and/or movement of the HMD,virtual reality device, and/or eye balls and/or the signals from themicrophones 412, 512 to determine whether the user has made a certainselection. For example, if the user's head moves, a cursor displayed onthe display 764 may be moved from one tile or chicklet to another tileor chicklet to select a certain sports game, App, stadium seat, stadiumsection, camera, point of reference, etc. The various items that may beselected may be highlighted, circled, and/or are identified in someother manner as the user's head and/or eye balls move to allow the userto make the appropriate selection. In one embodiment, when the userstops on one of the selectable items for a predetermined period of timethat item is selected.

The display module 758 controls display of a virtual reality environmentand other video content on the display 764. This may be based on: one ormore of the signals VA, INPUT, START, SLCT, FOV from the modules 750,752, 754, 756; signals received from the modules 760, 762; and/orsignals EXTERNAL, SG. The signal EXTERNAL may include signals with videoand/or audio content, scoreguide information, statistics, menu data,etc. received from the headend 12, the user receiving device 22, therouter 30, client device 34, and/or the network 50. The signal EXTERNALand/or content and information provided in the signal EXTERNAL may beprovided to any of the modules of the controller 510 and based on whichthe modules may perform corresponding tasks. The signal SG is ascoreguide signal that may be generated by the scoreguide module 764based on the signals VA, INPUT. A user may move the virtual realitydevice, eyeballs, and/or command viewing of an area to the left, right,up, and/or down relative to point in a center of a current FOV. Based onthis, the scoreguide module 764 may display a scoreguide (sometimesreferred to as a scoreboard) and/or corresponding information to theleft, right up and/or down of the point in the center of the currentFOV. This is further described below with respect to the method of FIG.16.

The options module 760 may generate video content for various differentoptions that may be displayed on the display 764 and selected by a user,as may be indicated by the selection signal SLCT. The options mayinclude channels, tiles, games, stadium sections, stadium seats, stadiumcameras, package deals, etc. The options may be offered by the contentprovider and/or the headend and downloaded to the upgrade module. Theupgrade module 762 may generate video content for various differentupgrade options that may be displayed on the display 764. The upgradesmay include upgrading: stadium sections; stadium seats; locations ofstadium cameras; range of angles for FOV; number of cameras; number ofseats; number of sections; from video only access to video and audioaccess for the selected section(s), seat(s), and/or camera(s); and/orother upgrades. The upgrades may be offered by the content provider 64and/or the headend 12 and downloaded to the upgrade module 762.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a FOV 790 displayed on a screen or display(e.g., the display 764 of FIG. 8) of a virtual reality device (e.g., thevirtual reality device 36 of FIG. 6). The FOV 790 includes: a centerwindow 800 showing a view of a currently being watched sports game; adisplayed channel section 802 including tiles 804, where each of thetiles 804 shows live sports channels of other sports games and/or sportstalk channels; a scoreguide 806 of the sports game displayed in thecenter window 800; a non-displayed channel section 808 including tiles810, where each of the tiles 810 indicates information pertaining to acurrently being played sports game that is not currently displayed inthe FOV 790; and a statistic section 812. The scoreguide module 764 ofFIG. 8 may generate the content shown in the scoreguide 806 and/or inthe sections 808, 812. The statistic section 812 may include statisticsfor: the sports game and/or players and/or coaches associated with thesports game being viewed in the center window 800; other sports games,players and/or coaches; other games, players and/or coaches of a sametype of sports game (football, basketball, baseball, hockey, etc.)and/or competition level of sports (e.g., professional, minor leagues,college, high school, etc.) as that being shown in the center window800. A user may focus on and/or select one of the tiles 804 and/or tiles810 to be displayed in the center window 800. Audio being heard may befor the game displayed in the center window 800.

The FOV 190 may also display a view within the stadium of the game shownin the center window 800. The view within the stadium may be live, aprevious recorded view, a modified view or a computer generatedrepresentative view. The view may simply be a view of any stadium or ofany stadium in which the type and/or competition level of the sportsgame shown in the center window 800 is played.

Information displayed on the scoreguide 806 and in the sections 808, 812may be downloaded prior to and/or via a different channel than that usedto download video content displayed in the section 802 and/or the centerwindow 800. Views inside a stadium may also be downloaded prior toand/or via a different channel than that used to download video contentdisplayed in the section 802 and/or center window 800. The views insidethe stadium may be live views, previously captured views, storedrepresentative (not actual) views of inside the stadium, and/or modifiedviews. The information may be stored in, for example, the memory 532.This minimizes an amount of data being downloaded at any moment of timeon any channel.

A user's head and/or eye balls may move to zoom in on and/or only viewportions of that shown in the FOV 790. For example, the user's headand/or eye balls may move to the left and remain in that area for apredetermined period upon which time the corresponding HMD shows thetiles 804 and the center window 800 and not the scoreguide 806, tiles810 and/or statistic section 812.

A cursor, frame or other indicator may be shown over one of the tiles804, 810 and/or one of the tiles 804, 810 may be highlighted to indicatewhich of the tiles 804, 810 a user is selecting. Movement of the user'shead and/or eye balls may move the indicator over a different one of thetiles 804, 810 and/or may change which one of the tiles 804, 810 arehighlighted. As an example a frame 820 is shown in the section 802 and aframe 822 is shown in section 808. Moving the indicator and/orhighlighting one or more tiles may also be done via the touchpad on thevirtual reality device 36. Some of the tiles 808 may indicate livescores of the sports games shown in section 802. The tiles 808 may show:team trademarks, mascots, and/or symbols; which quarter or period isbeing played; which team has possession of the ball; records of each ofthe teams playing; etc. The frames 820, 822 may be for the same game ordifferent games. In one embodiment, all of the sports games, channels,tiles, sections, scores, statistics shown in the FOV 790 are for thesame type of sport and/or the same competition level of that sport.

The FOV 790 may be customizable by the user. The user may select whichchannels/sports games are shown in section 802, 808. The user mayselect: what game and/or information is shown in the center window 800;what statistics are shown in section 812; the number of channels/gamesshown in section 802; whether multiple games are shown in respectivewindows similar to the center window and centered in a FOV by motion ofthe virtual reality device and/or eye balls of the user; etc.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a three-dimensional (3D) view of a stadium830 including selectable tiles as seen via the virtual reality device 36and/or display 764 of FIGS. 1, 6, 8. Selectable sections 832 of thestadium 830 are outlined. A user may move the virtual reality device 36and/or his/her eye balls to place an indicator over and/or highlight oneof the sections. When a user selects a game to view, a 3D view of astadium of the selected game may be shown to the user to allow the userto select one or more sections, seats, cameras, points of reference,etc. at or from which to view inside the stadium. FIG. 11 shows anexample by which a user can select a section. FIG. 12 shows an exampleby which a user can select a section and/or a point of reference. Eachof the points of reference refers to a location in the stadium at whichone or more cameras are positioned. This allows for different 360°viewing angles. Sections 840 and points of reference 842 are shown. Thisallows the user to, in a virtual reality environment, experience insidethe stadium at various points of reference and to move his/her headand/or eyeballs to view up to 360° at each of the points of reference.

FIG. 13 is another example of a 2D overhead view of a stadium withselectable sections 850, which may be shaded and/or colored based onprice range. FIG. 14 shows another example of a 2D overhead view of aportion of a stadium illustrating selectable seats 860 and correspondingsections 862 and rows. Arrows may be used to point to one or more seatsat which cameras may be located to provide respective points ofreference.

Price for viewing may be different depending on the section, point ofreference, and locations of one or more cameras. Tiered pricing may beprovided in an a la carte format, in a tiered subscription price model,and/or in some other format. For example, a user may select a baselinesubscription to multiple sports events and/or a single viewing of acertain sports event and be provided with default or baseline viewingpermissions. The baseline viewing permissions may allow the user to viewthe selected game in a high-up bleacher point of reference near, forexample, an end zone of a football field. As the user upgrades his/hersubscription and/or point of reference, the view may become closer andcloser to the 50 yard line and/or closer to or by coaches, footballplayers, cheerleaders and/or other team personnel. The better thelocation and the more features/options selected the better thesubscription package and accordingly the higher the price of thesubscription package.

One or more tables may be stored in 532 of the virtual reality device36. The tables may provide pricing for the various features, options,packages that may be selected. The tables and/or correspondinginformation may be displayed on the display 42 and selected by movementof the virtual reality device 36 and/or eye balls of the user, thetouchpad 516, and/or the microphones 412, 512. As an example, thetable(s) may include pricing for: whether one or more stationary camerasare selected; whether one or more moving cameras are selected; whether asideline left, center or right view has been selected; which sections,seats, points of reference, and range of angles viewable at the selectedpoints of reference are selected; whether 360° of viewing is selected;whether audio is selected; etc. Stationary cameras may refer to camerasat or near certain seats, poles, fixed structures, etc. within astadium. Moving cameras may refer to cameras on, for example, wires andmoving over a play field. A side line view may refer to a point ofreference located near a sideline of the play field. This may be near acoach, a player, or other person near a side line. This may include aview from a camera located on a coach, a player or other person near aside line. The tables may include pricing for: numbers of sportingevents selected; whether all games of a certain type and/or competitionlevel are selected; number of stadiums selected; number of sectionsselected; number of seats selected; number of points of referenceselected; whether unlimited viewing is selected; etc. The tables mayinclude pricing for various packages including pricing for upgradesand/or promotional deals. The tables may further include pricing for:season packages; daily/monthly/yearly packages; etc. The tables mayinclude tiered pricing of points of reference based on demand to vieweach game. For example, points of reference for a regular season gamemay be less than points of reference for a playoff game. There may bedifferent pricing for cameras located on the playing field and/or on aplayer verses cameras located off of the playing field.

The tables may further include pricing for points of reference based onthe number of cameras at the points of reference. Each point ofreference may have any number of cameras. The larger the number ofcameras, generally the better the 360° view at the corresponding pointof reference.

For further defined structure of the modules of FIGS. 2-5 and 7-8 seebelow provided methods of FIGS. 15-16 and below provided definition forthe term “module”. The systems disclosed herein may be operated usingnumerous methods, example methods are illustrated in FIGS. 15-16. FIG.15 shows a flowchart of a method for controlling a virtual realitydevice (e.g., the virtual reality device 36 of FIG. 1). Although thefollowing tasks are primarily described with respect to theimplementations of FIGS. 1-14, the tasks may be easily modified to applyto other implementations of the present disclosure. The tasks may beiteratively performed. The below described tasks may be performed bymodules of the controller 510.

The method may begin at 900. At 902, an App (e.g., stadium view App) islaunched by the launch module 752. The App allows sporting events andstereoscopic VR channels to be stereoscopically viewed live and/or forplayback using a virtual reality HMD (e.g., the virtual reality device36). If played back, the video content may be downloaded from theheadend 12 to one of the devices 22, 36, 44, 46 prior to or afterselection and request of the video content by a user. If downloadedprior to the selection, the download may be based on viewing history,viewer authorization level, and/or viewing preferences of the user. Theprior downloading allows for quick response time for playing the videocontent when selected by the user. The user may select a sports App, byselecting one of multiple tiles of Apps shown on the display 42,verbally requesting the App, or touching the touchpad 516. At 904, ifthe display 42 is a display of a client device (e.g., mobile device),then task 906 may be performed, otherwise task 908 may be performed.

At 906, the launch module 752 may display a message indicating to theuser to connect the client device 34 to or plug the client device 34 inthe virtual reality device 36. This allows a screen of the client device34 to be used as a display for the virtual reality device 36.

In one embodiment, a FOV (e.g., the FOV 790) may be displayed on thevirtual reality device at 908. As a default, a last watched sportschannel or a game having a team that was last watched may be displayed.As a default, a preferred channel or game with a preferred team may bedisplayed. As another example, a game may be selected from a preferredtype of sports game and/or competition level of the user.

At 910, a sports game may be selected other than the default sportsgame, as described above. This selection may be performed based on thesignals from the sensors 519, the touchpad 516, the microphones 412, 512and/or other sensors and devices on the virtual reality device 36 andreceiving input from the user. At 912, display module 758 or the optionsmodule 760 may determine whether the user has already selected optionsfor the selected sports game and has permission to view the selectedgame. If the options have already been selected and the user haspermission, task 920 may be performed or task 918 may be performed, asshown. If the options have not already been selected, task 914 may beperformed. If the options have already been selected, but the user doesnot have permission to view the selected game according to the optionsselected, the display module 758 may display a message indicatingpermission denied and/or show a window allowing the user to pay for theoptions selected.

At 914, various viewing options may be shown via the display 42. Thismay include showing any of the above-described tables and/orcorresponding information and viewing parameters. This may includeshowing tiles having respective options that the user may select. Theuser may select and pay for the selected options if the selected optionshave not previously been paid. This may also include showing birds-eyeviews and/or other views of the stadium (e.g., the views shown in FIGS.11-14) to allow the user to select sections, seats, cameras, and/orpoints of view.

At 916, one or more of the options and/or corresponding viewingparameters may be selected. This may include the sensor module 750receiving signals from the touchpad 516, the microphones 412, 512,and/or the sensors 519 and the selection module 756 generating theselection signal SLCT, as described above. Task 918 may be performedafter task 916.

In another embodiment and prior to task 908, tiles and/or a menu ofcurrent sports games are shown from which the user may select one ormore to view. A selected sports game may then be shown in the centerwindow 800 at 908.

At 918, the upgrade module 762 may generate a signal to display one ormore upgrades based on the previously selected options. The upgrades maybe shown in respective tiles on the display 42. At 920, the user mayaccept or deny one or more of the upgrades being offered.

At 922, the display module 758 displays a second FOV (stadium virtualreality FOV) from a point of reference selected for viewing. A user mayswitch between different points of reference if more than one point ofreference has been selected and the user has permission to view theadditional one or more points of reference. The switching between pointsof reference may be done via, for example, the touchpad 516 or bystaring at a certain area within the shown FOV for a predeterminedlength of time.

At 924, selection module 756 and/or display module 758 monitors thesensors 519, the touchpad 516, the microphones 412, 512 and/or othersensors and device generating signals indicative of whether the user iscommanding: a change of a viewing angle for a current point ofreference; is commanding a change of a current point of reference toanother point of reference; is commanding to switch from viewing thestadium from the current point of reference to viewing a menu ormulti-game FOV (e.g., the first FOV 790); and/or is commanding someother task be performed. Task 924 may be performed throughout the methodof FIG. 15.

At 926, if the point of reference is maintained, then task 928 may beperformed to adjust the viewing angle for the point of reference. Thismay include selecting image data from different cameras at the point ofreference. If the point of reference is not maintained, task 930 may beperformed.

At 930, a determination is made as to whether the same sports gameand/or channel is to be maintained. If the same sports game and/orchannel are to be maintained, task 932 may be performed to change thepoint of reference. This allows the user to view the inside of thestadium for the currently watched sports game from a different pointwithin the stadium. If the same sports game and/or channel are not to bemaintained, task 934 may be performed.

At 934, the controller 510 and/or the display module 758 changes toshowing a menu and/or a multi-game FOV (e.g., the FOV 790). This allowsthe user to select a different game, to view multiple games, and/orcheck statistics. Subsequent to task 934, task 910 may be performed.

The above-described tasks are meant to be illustrative examples; thetasks may be performed sequentially, synchronously, simultaneously,continuously, during overlapping time periods or in a different orderdepending upon the application. Also, any of the tasks may not beperformed or skipped depending on the implementation and/or sequence ofevents.

The above-described examples allow a user to watch sporting events viaan immersive virtual reality HMD. The user is able to view a virtualreality environment in which the user is able to view inside the stadiumas if the user were at a point of reference within the stadium. The usercan have a 360° view from a selected point of reference, as well as beable to look upward (allowing the user to look at higher seats, ascoreboard, and/or ceiling of the stadium) and/or downward (allowing theuser to look at lower seats, sideline areas, end zones, playing field,rink, court, etc. This benefits consumers with disabilities that may notbe able to physically go to the stadium and/or travel by providingexclusive camera angles of a sporting event (e.g., national footballleague (NFL®) Sunday Ticket by DIRECTV® content). Video content ofsports channels (e.g., Red Zone Channel®, DIRECTV Fantasy Zone Channel™)may also be viewed in a virtual reality environment.

FIG. 16 shows a flowchart of a method for controlling a virtual realitydevice (e.g., the virtual reality device 36 of FIG. 1). Although thefollowing tasks are primarily described with respect to theimplementations of FIGS. 1-14, the tasks may be easily modified to applyto other implementations of the present disclosure. The tasks may beiteratively performed. The below described tasks may be performed bymodules of the controller 510.

The method may begin at 950. At 951, a user may preselect teams, games,sports events, cities, regions, sports channels, types of sports,competition levels, number of channels to display, etc. via the clientdevice 34 (e.g., mobile phone). This may include configuring layouts ofone or more scoreguides. This may include selecting and launching an Appon the client device 34, receiving the user's selection as an input, andforwarding the selections to the headend 12 and the virtual realitydevice 36.

At 952, an App (e.g., stadium view App or scoreguide view App) islaunched by the launch module 752. The App allows sporting events andstereoscopic VR channels to be to be stereoscopically viewed live and/orfor playback using a virtual reality HMD (e.g., the virtual realitydevice 36). The stadium view App allows a user to look to the left,right, up and/or down to view a scoreguide. The scoreguide may include:a score of a current game being watched; sports information pertainingto the current game being watched; tiles with sports information forother currently being played games; scores of other games previousplayed; statistics; etc. The sports information may include: trademarks,symbols, and/or mascots of the teams playing in the current game;records of the teams playing in the current game; an indication of theteam having possession of the ball or puck; a current down; timeremaining in a current quarter or period; yards to go to first down;penalties; timeouts remaining; etc.

FIG. 17 shows an example of a field of view 1000 showing a center window1002, and two scoreguides 1004, 1006, which are on left and right sidesof the center window 1002. The center window 1002 displays the currentgame being watched. In one embodiment, the scoreguides 1004, 1006 arenot shown unless the user looks to the left or the right. If the userlooks to the left, the scoreguide 1004 and/or the center window 1000 areshown. If the user looks to the right, the scoreguide 1006 and/or thecenter window 1000 are shown. The scoreguides 1004, 1006 may be showndirectly to the left or to the right or may be offset vertically fromthe center window 1000, as shown. Although FIG. 17 shows scoreguides tothe left and right of the center window 1000, scoreguides may be shownabove or below the center window 1000. This may occur when the userlooks above or below the center window 1000.

If played back, the video content may be downloaded from the headend 12to one of the devices 22, 36, 44, 46 prior to or after selection andrequest of the video content by a user. If downloaded prior to theselection, the download may be based on viewing history and viewingpreferences of the user. The prior downloading allows for quick responsetime for playing the video content when selected by the user. The usermay select a sports App, by selecting one of multiple tiles of Appsshown on the display 42, verbally requesting the App, or touching thetouchpad 516. At 954, if the display 42 is a display of a client device(e.g., mobile device), then task 956 may be performed, otherwise task958 may be performed.

Referring again to FIG. 16, at 956, the launch module 752 may display amessage indicating to the user to connect the client device 34 to orplug the client device 34 in the virtual reality device 36. This allowsa screen of the client device 34 to be used as a display for the virtualreality device 36.

In one embodiment, a first FOV (e.g., the FOV 1000) or a portion thereofmay be displayed on the virtual reality device at 958. As analternative, a FOV including a menu or array of tiles of selectablegames may be displayed, as stated in FIG. 16. If the FOV 1000 isdisplayed, then a game may be displayed based on the preselectionsobtained at 951. As an alternative, a default, a last watched sportschannel, a last watched game, and/or a game having a team that was lastwatched may be displayed. As a default, a preferred channel or game witha preferred team may be displayed. As another example, a game may beselected from a preferred type of sports game and/or competition levelof the user. If however the menu or array of tiles of selectable gamesis displayed, then multiple boxes or chicklets may be displayed thatrespectively indicate information regarding current games being played,such as team names, types of sporting event, team logos, trademarks,symbols, mascots, scores, and/or other information pertaining to thecorresponding game. The tiles may be similar to the tiles in the section808 of FIG. 9.

At 960, a sports game may be selected other than the sports gamedisplayed at 958. This selection may be performed based on the signalsfrom the sensors 519, the touchpad 516, the microphones 412, 512 and/orother sensors and devices on the virtual reality device 36 and receivinginput from the user. As another selection example, a user may tap andhold a button on the virtual reality device 36 to make a selection. Asanother selection example, a user may hover over a displayed tile withthe user's eyes to select the tile. A user may select a tile and dragthe tile around a FOV to select where a game is to be displayed in theFOV. Also, the selections disclosed herein may be based on signals fromone or more of the sensors 519, the touchpad 516, the microphones 412,512 and/or other sensors and devices on the virtual reality device 36.Thus, a single selection may be based on a combination of signals fromdifferent ones of these devices.

At 962, the display module 758 displays a second FOV (e.g., the FOV1000, which may be referred to as a stadium virtual reality FOV). Thesecond field of view may include a center window (e.g., the centerwindow 1002) and one or more scoreguides (e.g., the scoreguides 1004,1006). The second FOV 1000 may show the game as would be seen on atelevision (e.g., 2D view of a game as provided by a sports channel) ormay show the game from a point of reference within a stadium of the gameselected for viewing, as described above. A user may switch betweendifferent points of reference if more than one point of reference hasbeen selected and the user has permission to view the additional one ormore points of reference, as also described above. The scoreguides maybe displayed to the left, right, above or underneath the center windowand may be displayed based on outputs of the sensors 519, the touchpad516, the microphones 412, 512 and/or other sensors and devices on thevirtual reality device 36 and receiving input from the user. This isdifferent than pressing a button on a remote control to launch ascoreguide on a television. As a default, one or more scoreguides or noscoreguides may be shown as a default. Display of multiple scoreguidesmay be referred to as a stereoscopic conversion and display of ascoreguide. The scoreguides may be moved around and/or tiles within eachof the scoreguides may be moved around within the virtual realityenvironment to provide a custom layout. If more than one scoreguide isdisplayed, the scoreguides may include the same or different tiles,information, etc.

At 964, the signals from the sensors 519, the touchpad 516, themicrophones 412, 512 and/or other sensors and devices on the virtualreality device 36 and receiving input from the user are monitored. Task964 may be performed more than once and at any point during the methodof FIG. 16.

At 966, based on the input from the user, the scoreguide module 764 orthe display module 758 determines whether a scoreguide is displayed. Ifa scoreguide is displayed, task 968 may be performed, otherwise task 972may be performed.

At 968, the selection module 756 or the display module 758 determineswhether another game is selected. If another game is selected, task 970may be performed, otherwise task 964 may be performed.

At 970, the display module 758 changes a channel and/or game beingdisplayed on the display 764 of the virtual reality device 36. At 972,the selection module 756 or the display module 758 may determine if asignal from the sensors 519, the touchpad 516, the microphones 412, 512and/or other sensors and devices on the virtual reality device 36 hasbeen receive to display a scoreguide. The selection module 756 or thedisplay module 758 may also determine if a signal (e.g., the signalEXTERNAL) has been received with content for a scoreguide. If thesignals have been received, task 974 may be performed to display ascoreguide. Task 964 may be performed subsequent to task 972 if thesignals have not been received. Subsequent to displaying a scoreguide,the user may return to directly looking at the center window of thegame. At this point the scoreguide may no longer be displayed.

The above-described method allows users to check scores via interactiveservice items (e.g., game chips/tiles and/or scoreguide) in comfort oftheir own home via a HMD by simply looking in a particular direct inwhich the users want to see the interactive service items. Thescoreguide allows a user to check their favorite team's score withouthaving a portion of a view of a game covered by the scoreguide. The usercan look in a particular direction relative to the view of the game toview the scoreguide and/or select other games and/or sports channels.This allows a view of the current game to continue being displayed andenables the user to view additional sports scores.

The images displayed during the above-described methods may be updatedperiodically. This includes images of games, scoreguides, stadiumsand/or other displayed images. A refresh rate of the images associatedwith a game and/or playing field may be faster than a refresh rateassociated with a scoreguide and/or or a view inside a stadium that doesnot include a playing field.

The above-described methods are applicable to any virtual realityplatform used to display sports channels and/or events. Some examples ofsports channels that may be displayed are NBA League Pass™, NFL SundayTicket™, MLB Extra Inning™, and NHL Center Ice™.

The wireless communications described in the present disclosure can beconducted in full or partial compliance with IEEE standards, such asIEEE standard 802.11-2012, IEEE standard 802.16-2009, IEEE standard802.20-2008 and/or other suitable IEEE standards. In variousimplementations, IEEE 802.11-2012 may be supplemented by draft IEEEstandard 802.11ac, draft IEEE standard 802.11ad, and/or draft IEEEstandard 802.11ah.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative in nature and is in noway intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses. Thebroad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety offorms. Therefore, while this disclosure includes particular examples,the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since othermodifications will become apparent upon a study of the drawings, thespecification, and the following claims. It should be understood thatone or more steps within a method may be executed in different order (orconcurrently) without altering the principles of the present disclosure.Further, although each of the embodiments is described above as havingcertain features, any one or more of those features described withrespect to any embodiment of the disclosure can be implemented in and/orcombined with features of any of the other embodiments, even if thatcombination is not explicitly described. In other words, the describedembodiments are not mutually exclusive, and permutations of one or moreembodiments with one another remain within the scope of this disclosure.

As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should beconstrued to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a non-exclusive logicalOR, and should not be construed to mean “at least one of A, at least oneof B, and at least one of C.”

In this application, including the definitions below, the term “module”or the term “controller” may be replaced with the term “circuit.” Theterm “module” may refer to, be part of, or include: an ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC); a digital, analog, or mixedanalog/digital discrete circuit; a digital, analog, or mixedanalog/digital integrated circuit; a combinational logic circuit; afield programmable gate array (FPGA); a processor circuit (shared,dedicated, or group) that executes code; a memory circuit (shared,dedicated, or group) that stores code executed by the processor circuit;other suitable hardware components that provide the describedfunctionality; or a combination of some or all of the above, such as ina system-on-chip. Each module may include and/or be implemented as acomputing device, which may be implemented in analog circuitry and/ordigital circuitry. Further, the computing device may include amicroprocessor or microcontroller that performs instructions to carryout steps performed by various system components.

The module may include one or more interface circuits. In some examples,the interface circuits may include wired or wireless interfaces that areconnected to a local area network (LAN), the Internet, a wide areanetwork (WAN), or combinations thereof. The functionality of any givenmodule of the present disclosure may be distributed among multiplemodules that are connected via interface circuits. For example, multiplemodules may allow load balancing. In a further example, a server (alsoknown as remote, or cloud) module may accomplish some functionality onbehalf of a client module.

The term code, as used above, may include software, firmware, and/ormicrocode, and may refer to programs, routines, functions, classes, datastructures, and/or objects. The term shared processor circuitencompasses a single processor circuit that executes some or all codefrom multiple modules. The term group processor circuit encompasses aprocessor circuit that, in combination with additional processorcircuits, executes some or all code from one or more modules. Referencesto multiple processor circuits encompass multiple processor circuits ondiscrete dies, multiple processor circuits on a single die, multiplecores of a single processor circuit, multiple threads of a singleprocessor circuit, or a combination of the above. The term shared memorycircuit encompasses a single memory circuit that stores some or all codefrom multiple modules. The term group memory circuit encompasses amemory circuit that, in combination with additional memories, storessome or all code from one or more modules.

The term memory circuit is a subset of the term computer-readablemedium. The term computer-readable medium, as used herein, does notencompass transitory electrical or electromagnetic signals propagatingthrough a medium (such as on a carrier wave); the term computer-readablemedium may therefore be considered tangible and non-transitory.Non-limiting examples of a non-transitory, tangible computer-readablemedium are nonvolatile memory circuits (such as a flash memory circuit,an erasable programmable read-only memory circuit, or a mask read-onlymemory circuit), volatile memory circuits (such as a static randomaccess memory circuit or a dynamic random access memory circuit),magnetic storage media (such as an analog or digital magnetic tape or ahard disk drive), and optical storage media (such as a CD, a DVD, or aBlu-ray Disc). The computer-readable medium and/or memory disclosedherein may include, for example, a hard drive, Flash memory, radonaccess memory (RAM), programmable read only memory (PROM), electricallyerasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), read only memory (ROM)phase-change memory and/or other discrete memory components.

In this application, apparatus elements described as having particularattributes or performing particular operations are specificallyconfigured to have those particular attributes and perform thoseparticular operations. Specifically, a description of an element toperform an action means that the element is configured to perform theaction. The configuration of an element includes providing the hardwareand optionally the software to perform the corresponding action inaddition to the hardware provided. Examples of the structure that may beused to perform the corresponding action are provided throughout thespecification and illustrated by the provided drawings. See the examplesof the defined structure disclosed by the modules, devices, elements andcorresponding methods described herein. The configuration of an elementmay include programming of the element, such as by encoding instructionson a non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium associated withthe element.

The apparatuses and methods described in this application may bepartially or fully implemented by a special purpose computer created byconfiguring a general purpose computer to execute one or more particularfunctions embodied in computer programs. The functional blocks,flowchart components, and other elements described above serve assoftware specifications, which can be translated into the computerprograms by the routine work of a skilled technician or programmer.

The computer programs include processor-executable instructions that arestored on at least one non-transitory, tangible computer-readablemedium. The computer programs may also include or rely on stored data.The computer programs may encompass a basic input/output system (BIOS)that interacts with hardware of the special purpose computer, devicedrivers that interact with particular devices of the special purposecomputer, one or more operating systems, user applications, backgroundservices, background applications, etc.

The computer programs may include: (i) descriptive text to be parsed,such as HTML (hypertext markup language) or XML (extensible markuplanguage), (ii) assembly code, (iii) object code generated from sourcecode by a compiler, (iv) source code for execution by an interpreter,(v) source code for compilation and execution by a just-in-timecompiler, etc. As examples only, source code may be written using syntaxfrom languages including C, C++, C#, Objective C, Haskell, Go, SQL, R,Lisp, Java®, Fortran, Perl, Pascal, Curl, OCaml, Javascript®, HTML5,Ada, ASP (active server pages), PHP, Scala, Eiffel, Smalltalk, Erlang,Ruby, Flash®, Visual Basic®, Lua, and Python®.

None of the elements recited in the claims are intended to be ameans-plus-function element within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. §112(f)unless an element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for,” orin the case of a method claim using the phrases “operation for” or “stepfor.”

Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoingdescription that the broad teachings of the disclosure can beimplemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosureincludes particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure shouldnot be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to theskilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, the specification andthe following claims.

1. A virtual reality system comprising: a head mounted displayconfigured to display a virtual reality environment including sportscontent of a live game, a prerecorded game, or a sports channel; atleast one sensor or input device connected to the head mounted displayand configured to generate a plurality of head mounted display movementsignals based on detection of at least one of movement of the headmounted display or movement of an eyeball of a user; a selection moduleconfigured to select the sports content based on the plurality ofsignals and generate a selection signal indicating the sports content; ascoreguide module configured to generate a scoreguide based on theplurality of head mounted display movement signals; and a display moduleconfigured to display the sports content in the virtual realityenvironment based on the selection signal and display the scoreguide inthe virtual reality environment based on the plurality of head mounteddisplay movement signals.
 2. The virtual reality system of claim 1,wherein the display module is configured to: display the sport contentin a center window in the virtual reality environment; and display thescoreguide to the left, right, above or below the center window in thevirtual reality environment.
 3. The virtual reality system of claim 1,wherein: the scoreguide comprises a plurality of tiles; the plurality oftiles include at least one identifier; and each of the identifiers ofthe plurality of tiles corresponds to a respective sports game, sportsevent, or sports channel.
 4. The virtual reality system of claim 3,wherein each of the plurality of tiles includes a live score of arespective sports game.
 5. The virtual reality system of claim 1,wherein the display module is configured to change a layout of thescoreguide as shown in the virtual reality environment based on theplurality of head mounted display movement signals.
 6. The virtualreality system of claim 1, wherein: the sports content is of a firstsports game; the plurality of signals indicate selection of a tile onthe scoreguide by the user; the selected tile corresponds to a secondsports game; the selection module is configured to, based on theplurality of head mounted display movement signals, select the secondsports game and generates the selection signal; and the display moduleis configured to display the second sports game based on the selectionsignal.
 7. The virtual reality system of claim 1, wherein the sportscontent displayed in the virtual reality environment is displayed from apoint of reference within a stadium in which a sports game correspondingto the sports content is being played.
 8. The virtual reality system ofclaim 1, wherein: the display module is configured to receive a signaltransmitted from a client device to a virtual reality device; the signaltransmitted to the virtual reality device indicates preselectedinformation; the virtual reality device comprises the head mounteddisplay, the at least one sensor or input device, the selection module,the scoreguide module and the display module; and the display module,based on the preselected information, is configured to display thesports content and the scoreguide.
 9. The virtual reality system ofclaim 8, wherein the preselected information indicates a selected sportsgame.
 10. The virtual reality system of claim 8, wherein the preselectedinformation indicates content of the scoreguide.
 11. A method ofoperating a virtual reality system, the method comprising: displaying avirtual reality environment on a head mounted display including sportscontent of a live game, a prerecorded game, or a sports channel;generating, via at least one sensor or input device connected to thehead mounted display, a plurality of head mounted display movementsignals based on detection of at least one of movement of the headmounted display or movement of an eyeball of a user; selecting thesports content based on the plurality of signals and generate aselection signal indicating the sports content; generating a scoreguidebased on the plurality of head mounted display movement signals; anddisplaying the sports content in the virtual reality environment basedon the selection signal and display the scoreguide in the virtualreality environment based on the plurality of head mounted displaymovement signals.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:displaying the sport content in a center window in the virtual realityenvironment; and displaying the scoreguide to the left, right, above orbelow the center window in the virtual reality environment.
 13. Themethod of claim 11, wherein: the scoreguide comprises a plurality oftiles; the plurality of tiles include at least one identifier; and eachof the identifiers of the plurality of tiles corresponds to a respectivesports game, sports event, or sports channel.
 14. The method of claim13, wherein each of the plurality of tiles includes a live score of arespective sports game.
 15. The method of claim 11, further comprisingchanging a layout of the scoreguide as shown in the virtual realityenvironment based on the plurality of signals.
 16. The method of claim11, further comprising: based on the plurality of head mounted displaymovement signals, selecting a second sports game and generating theselection signal, wherein the sports content is of a first sports game,the plurality of head mounted display movement signals indicateselection of a tile on the scoreguide by the user, and the selected tilecorresponds to the second sports game; and displaying the second sportsgame based on the selection signal.
 17. The method of claim 11, whereinthe sports content displayed in the virtual reality environment isdisplayed from a point of reference within a stadium in which a sportsgame corresponding to the sports content is being played.
 18. The methodof claim 11, further comprising: receiving a signal transmitted from aclient device to a virtual reality device, wherein the signaltransmitted to the virtual reality device indicates preselectedinformation, and the virtual reality device comprises the head mounteddisplay and the at least one sensor or input device; and based on thepreselected information, displaying the sports content and thescoreguide.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the preselectedinformation indicates a selected sports game.
 20. The method of claim18, wherein the preselected information indicates content of thescoreguide.